Towanda Historic District · Photo: Nicholas · CC BY 2.0Household incomes in Towanda trail those of 73% of U.S. towns
Home is the office for 3% of workers, where Pennsylvania as a whole has 16%. Poverty touches 12.6% of residents, next to 11.7% for Pennsylvania as a whole. Jobs and income earn Towanda C−; getting around on foot earns it A.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Getting to work from Towanda, in brief
Few Towanda workers work from home
Only 3% of workers work from home, against 16% across Pennsylvania. Almost everyone here travels to a job. Time on the road ↓
Commutes from Towanda are quick
The average trip to work takes 20 minutes, against 26 across Pennsylvania. That’s about 46 hours a year less on the road than the typical Pennsylvania worker. Time on the road ↓
Fewer jobs are based in Towanda than ten years ago
Jobs counted in Towanda fell from 2,479 in 2013 to 1,741 in 2023, −30%. That can be real closings or a large employer now reporting its workers at another address; the data can’t tell the two apart. The jobs ↓
Nearly all the work in Towanda is services
86% of the jobs based here are in services, such as health care, schools and offices. Only 5% are in factories, building or farms. The jobs ↓
Written from the Census figures on this page. Commute flows, distances and jobs are Census LEHD 2023, primary jobs only (the self-employed aren’t counted); commute time and working from home are from the Census American Community Survey.
The figures behind Towanda’s Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Towanda is better than 23% of U.S. towns, #926 of 1,035 in Pennsylvania. Unemployment holds Towanda’s grade up (4.9%, U.S. 5.2%); job access by car pulls it down (ahead of 20% of U.S. towns).
A rough placement. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Towanda could be anywhere from D to B.
The daily trip from Towanda: about 20 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 6.3 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Towanda workers work from home, vs 16% across Pennsylvania. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 1,229 commuters (the 3% who work from home are left out). Across Pennsylvania: 81% drive alone, 4% take transit; U.S.: 81% and 4%. Census ACS 2020–24.
From the Census survey of workers who don’t work from home.
Services make up most of the work in Towanda
1,741 jobs are based in Towanda.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Towanda, 2013 → 2023: 2,479 → 1,741. Big swings can come from how a large employer reports its locations, not only from real openings or closings.
Primary jobs covered by unemployment insurance (not the self-employed). Pay is monthly earnings. LEHD 2023.
Here is what they are, next to the jobs Towanda’s own residents hold wherever they work.
In and out of Towanda on a workday
On a workday 1,037 residents head out to work, 189 work right here, and 1,552 people come in from elsewhere.
About 3,300 people are in Towanda on a workday afternoon, 19% more than live here.
About as many jobs as working residents (1.42 per resident).
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2023, primary jobs.
9% of working residents work in Wysox Township
Where Towanda clocks in
8% of workersLines run between town centers. The top 10 towns each way; “Everywhere else” is the rest, including other states.
A thicker line means more commuters. Switch between where residents work and where the people who work here live.
How far it is to work from Towanda
About 24% show a job over 50 miles away. Some of that is real, and some is employers that report every worker at a head office, so a few long commutes are on paper only.
Straight-line distance from each worker’s home block to their main job’s block. LEHD 2023.
Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.
Walkable streets, thin transit: Towanda
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Towanda is more walkable than 88% of U.S. towns, #223 of 1,035 in Pennsylvania. Both inputs place Towanda near the same point nationally.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 1,269 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 0% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 0% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about under 0.1 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 20% of the 9,825 U.S. towns with transit data.
Transit at the evening rush trips an hour stopping within ¼ mile of the typical resident, EPA 2020
Households without a car (shown, not graded). 5.7% of Towanda households have no vehicle (Pennsylvania 10.4%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Towanda’s commuters take a bus or train.
For jobs and income, Towanda is 3,735th of 4,969 U.S. towns of 1,900 to 3,700
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kenilworth IL | 2,437 | $250K | 2.1% | 4.0% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Chevy Chase Village MD | 1,978 | $250K | 1.2% | 2.6% | 3% | A+ |
| 3 | Belle Meade TN | 2,621 | $250K | 1.4% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 29 | Newtown PA | 2,257 | $166K | 2.0% | 2.3% | 6% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 64 | Churchill PA | 3,014 | $107K | 1.9% | 1.6% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 78 | Thornbury Township PA | 3,165 | $172K | 2.4% | 2.5% | 4% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 3,733 | Colstrip MT | 2,091 | $83K | 9.4% | 8.2% | 41% | C− |
| 3,734 | Green Level NC | 3,409 | $56K | 19.0% | 6.6% | 1% | C− |
| 3,735 | Towanda PA | 2,746 | $61K | 12.6% | 4.9% | 15% | C− |
| 3,736 | Haskell TX | 3,095 | $62K | 12.6% | 4.0% | 32% | C− |
| 3,737 | Athens Township MO | 2,173 | $49K | 16.8% | 2.0% | 27% | C− |
| … | |||||||
| 4,969 | Cibecue AZ | 2,228 | $26K | 57.2% | 13.3% | 12% | D− |
Census ACS 2020–24 (income, poverty, unemployment), Census LEHD (work in town), TownRatings Jobs & income grades. Each town links to its Work & commute page.
Ranked on the Jobs & income grade: the towns either side of Towanda, the top three, the last and three more from Pennsylvania.
Work next door: 17% of Towanda’s workers
The biggest share goes to Wysox Township (9%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Towanda workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Towanda | – | C− | A | 20 min | $60,888 |
| Towanda Township | under 2% | D− | C− | 17 min | $50,179 |
| North Towanda Township | 8% | D− | B+ | 21 min | $28,906 |
| Wysox Township | 9% | D | B | 19 min | $60,357 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Towanda’s workers. Tap a town to see its commute.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Two sources, two years. Trips, distances and jobs based here: Census LEHD 2023, primary jobs, where the employer reports them. Income, poverty, unemployment, commute time and how people travel: Census ACS 2020–24 averages.
- Straight lines, older transit. Miles are as the crow flies. EPA’s walkability and transit files use 2017–20 inputs.
Jobs and commuting in Towanda: questions
What is the median household income in Towanda?
$60,888 (±$9,593) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $77,971 across Pennsylvania and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Towanda?
12.6%, against 11.7% across Pennsylvania and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Towanda?
20 minutes each way on average, against 26 across Pennsylvania and 26 nationally. 3% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Towanda work?
15% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Wysox Township (9%, 5 mi), North Towanda Township (8%, 2 mi), Wyalusing Township (8%, 11 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Towanda walkable?
Towanda is more walkable than 88% of U.S. towns (Walkability A): an EPA walkability index of 11.0 out of 20, and 5% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Towanda without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 6% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Towanda, from the people who make the trip.
More of Towanda
Flows, distances and jobs: U.S. Census Bureau, LEHD Origin-Destination Employment Statistics (LODES 8), 2023, primary jobs. Commute time, working from home and working out of state: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates. Distances are straight lines between home and work; real drives run longer. Walkability index, job access and transit service: U.S. EPA Smart Location Database. The two grades are our own summaries of these figures, not official ratings.